“I cannot say enough about the cooperation of the three schools. They have worked together well in the past, and by putting all 12 channels up for lease together and not separately, it has been very profitable.”- Bruce Maas, UWM Information Technology Services Chief Information Officer.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee Public Schools are cashing in big on their 12 broadcast channels, which have gone practically unused for over a decade.

In December, Clearwire Corporation, a wireless broadband Internet service provider, began leasing each school’s four channels for an initial $4.167 million per school. Those payments will be received in February. Starting this week, each school will also begin receiving monthly payments of $55,000.

Clearwire signed a 30-year lease agreement with the schools, with a chance every 10 years to end the lease or renew it. Each year the monthly payments go up by three percent.

Benefits to UWM
The loan income will be used for three areas, said Rita Cheng, UWM provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

A significant portion of the funds will go towards undergraduate scholarships based on need and academic achievement.

“We have a number of potential students in financial need who state that they chose schools other than UWM because the other schools could offer more scholarships than us. This funding can help change that,” said Cheng.

The second area loan income will be allotted for is infrastructure. More computing technology will be needed to support incoming research staff, so funding in this area will go towards new computers, networks, and storage for these employees.

Finally, the remainder of the loan income will go towards regional campus development in the downtown and Wauwatosa areas. This will cover rental costs and remodeling while the new campus expansions are starting up, before constructing new facilities.

“At UWM we have a dual mission of access and research. We are looking for all sources of funding, and this will really help. Todd Gray, the attorney hired by all three schools for this contract indicated this was one of the most attractive contracts of this type in the U.S.,” said Bruce Maas, UWM Information Technology Services chief information officer.

By working together, UWM, MATC and MPS were able to get the most out of their broadband resource.

“I cannot say enough about the cooperation of the three schools. They have worked together well in the past, and by putting all 12 channels up for lease together and not separately, it has been very profitable,” said Maas.

History of the connection
The 12 channels were granted to UWM, MATC and MPS in the 1970s by the FCC exclusively for public service and educational purposes. UWM applied in 1972, during the time Cunningham Hall was being built.

The School of Nursing’s vision was to provide nursing classes over the TV. Cunningham Hall included a TV studio which was used to broadcast the classes.

In the mid-1990s, the TV classes became obsolete to newer Internet technologies, and were no longer broadcast.

Opportunities arose in 2005 when the FCC changed the rules concerning how these channels could be utilized. The frequencies could now be used wirelessly, and wireless network providers hoping to expand their reach began competing for a chance to lease the wireless frequencies from the schools.

“We’ve been working since the FCC made the change to put together a package for all 12 channels to be leased,” said Maas, “Each institution needed approval from their governing boards before any contracts could be signed.”

What’s ahead
According to Maas, the wireless broadband which is being leased is not the same as the current wireless connection at UWM, WI-FI. This new frequency, WIMAX, is broadcast from the antenna located at the top of the north tower of Sandburg Hall, and has a potential radius of 35 miles. This reach is much greater than typical WI-FI access, which reaches about 150 feet for each access point.

The three schools maintain ownership of the channels, and retain the right to buy them back at a 15% discounted rate. “For example, if some employees at UWM needed the wireless network, such as researchers in the field, it would be great for them to stay connected regardless of how close they are to campus,” said Maas.

Clearwire, headquartered in Kirkland, Wash., began service in October 2003. It had approximately 348,000 customers as of September 2007.

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